Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Zhao Yuan's smile widened: "You may wear whatever you like, everyday clothes."

"Whether it's wide or narrow, you can choose for yourselves."

Qin Hui immediately withdrew, feeling quite excited, knowing that his flattery had hit the mark.

He planned to have the tailor alter his clothes as soon as he got home.

The more streamlined and energetic the revisions, the better; the emperor will surely like them.

Chapter 3375 Map of the Counties and Prefectures of the Realm

No minister was a fool; seeing the emperor's beaming face, they all knew what the new ruler was up to.

Today, I deliberately wore court attire for two reasons.

Firstly, it was to intimidate the court officials and remind them that the emperor had changed;

Secondly, it was to set a new standard, so that in the future, there would be no more flashy but impractical things, and officials who were capable and efficient would be more appreciated by the emperor.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

A large group of officials shouted in unison, all of whom were thinking of going home to alter their clothes.

Zhao Yuan said, "Let the court adjourn. Everyone go back to your duties. Qin Hui, come with me."

Many ministers looked at Qin Hui with envy.

Qin Hui walked lightly, as if he were walking on clouds, bowing to the other officials along the way, and then followed the emperor out of the hall.

Zhao Yuan mounted the imperial carriage: "Sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Qin Hui trembled slightly with excitement as he carefully stepped onto the imperial carriage and sat upright opposite the emperor.

Zhao Yuan said, "I have read your memorial."

"Why did you suddenly think of mapping?"

Qin Hui replied, "When I was familiarizing myself with the official roads and water conservancy of the whole country, I discovered that some of the maps of the prefectures and counties of the former Song Dynasty were not drawn very accurately."

Ancient Chinese maps can be broadly divided into two types.

One type has a scale, is very similar to modern maps, and has very high precision.

If a modern person were to see it for the first time, they would probably mistake it for a satellite map.

These maps were kept in the central government's collection and could only be seen by high-ranking officials.

One type is scaleless, which includes mountains, rivers, and cities.

This type of map can be used by both local government officials and ordinary people.

The directions and distances are all marked, mainly for long-distance travel.

The "Map of Prefectures and Counties of the Empire" from the Song Dynasty was created by Shen Kuo and is at a scale of 1 in 900,000.

It includes two national general maps (one large and one small) and eighteen regional maps.

The overall plan is 4 meters long and more than 3 meters wide.

Shen Kuo spent twelve years drawing these maps.

He was demoted twice along the way, one of which was a placement under supervision, and he was even insulted and abused by his wife.

Despite setbacks in both his family and career, Shen Kuo persevered and completed the compilation of "Map of the Counties and Prefectures of the World".

He was granted special permission to go to the capital to present his work to the emperor, and was given a hundred bolts of silk. He was allowed to move freely in Xiuzhou, but was still not allowed to leave the territory of Xiuzhou.

Qin Hui said that Shen Kuo's cartography was somewhat inaccurate, which was probably due to his being placed under house arrest and exile.

Zhao Yuan asked, "Where are these maps?"

Qin Hui said, "I borrowed it to the Ministry of Works and have not returned it yet."

"To the Ministry of Works!" Zhao Yuan shouted to the driver.

The emperor personally visited the Ministry of Works, and officials came to pay their respects.

Because Zhao Yuan traveled by carriage the whole way, some officials from the Ministry of Works were still on their way back from court.

Qin Hui's expression was serious, but he was secretly pleased.

A large portion of the officials in the Ministry of Works were confidants of Grand Secretary Zhao Quan, so Qin Hui's personal prestige did not rise rapidly.

Today, Qin Hui has brought the emperor with him, so the officials of the Ministry of Works will surely trust him even more.

Several officials stood on stools and carefully unfolded the full map.

The map, which was three or four meters long and wide and precisely surveyed, gave Zhao Yuan a great visual impact.

Zhao Yuan genuinely didn't understand and asked, "How was this drawn?"

Qin Hui said: "During the Western Jin Dynasty, there was a great Confucian scholar named Pei Xiu who created the 'Six Principles of Cartography'. The first is scale, the second is orientation, the third is distance, the fourth is elevation, the fifth is slope, and the sixth is conversion between actual elevation and distance on the map."

“When drawing a map, first fill the map with squares, and the side length of each square represents the distance in miles.”

"It is necessary to send people to conduct on-site surveys, usually using a compass cart."

"The compass chariot not only pointed out directions, but its wheels could also calculate mileage."

"If it requires crossing mountains and valleys, then use another method to calculate."

Zhao Yuan praised, "A good idea."

Seeing that the emperor liked it, Qin Hui quickly added, "The secret archive also contains a Tang Dynasty map called 'Map of China and the Barbarians,' which depicts all nations."

"Take me there immediately!" Zhao Yuan was overjoyed.

So Qin Hui boarded the imperial carriage again and took the emperor to the secret chamber.

The national library of the Northern Song Dynasty was mainly located in the Chongwen Academy.

The east corridor houses the Zhaowen Hall library, the south corridor the Jixian Academy library, and the west corridor the Siku Quanshu (Four Treasuries of History).

Officials usually come here to search for historical records and materials.

In addition, there is the Secret Library, a special collection of books belonging to the national library.

Officials who wished to enter the Imperial Library to read books had to obtain the emperor's permission.

Zhao Yuan entered the Secret Pavilion Library, where the floor, doors, and windows were spotlessly clean.

But when he walked to a secluded corner and ran his finger across the bookshelf, his fingertip was covered in dust.

Zhao Yuan didn't punish anyone, but simply said, "The Secret Pavilion must be well maintained."

Qin Hui pointed to a large bookshelf: "The 'Map of China and the Barbarians within the Seas' is on there."

"When I was looking up maps, I found a map called 'Yu Ji Tu' in Chongwen Academy, which was printed at the beginning of Zhao Ji's reign."

"It also notes that the 'Map of Yu's Traces' only extracts a portion of the Tang Dynasty's 'Map of China and the Barbarians Within the Seas,' and I indeed found it in the Imperial Archives."

Chapter 3376 The Genius Shen Kuo

"Take it off and open it carefully," Zhao Yuan said.

This time, several guards carried it away in batches.

They were laid out on the ground according to their numbers and quickly pieced together to form a huge map.

Zhao Yuan almost blurted out "Holy shit!"

The complete map, when pieced together, is approximately 100 square meters.

Its territory extends north to the grasslands, south to Jiaozhi (Vietnam), east to the Korean Peninsula, and west to encompass Central Asia.

More than a hundred countries of varying sizes, as well as numerous minority regimes.

Unfortunately, this map was drawn during the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, and many of the foreign territories were drawn using the map from the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

It is estimated that there were some gaps at the time, the data was not complete, and many places in Central Asia were relatively vague, only vaguely marked as being from a certain country.

Zhao Yuan had his guards bring over a wooden ladder with wheels, which was usually used to retrieve books.

He climbed to the top of the wooden ladder, sat down, and looked down at the huge map of 100 square meters on the ground. As he quietly examined it, his eyes actually welled up with tears.

Aside from lacking latitude and longitude lines, it's essentially a "modern (partial) precise survey map of Asia".

After a long silence, Zhao Yuan said, "Go and invite the senior officials of the cabinet and the academy."

Cabinet and government officials arrived the fastest because they were the closest.

To enter the Secret Pavilion, one must obtain the emperor's approval. Who would just wander around here for no reason?

Moreover, the map was hidden in a corner and was so huge that it had to be pieced together.

Even Qin Hui, after discovering this, only opened one or two of them.

Every single official present was seeing it for the first time.

Tears streamed down Xiao Chu's face as he murmured to himself, "Is this the glorious Tang Dynasty?"

The ministers all turned their attention to the map, each starting from their own hometown and exploring outwards.

Finally, the focus shifts to the Western Regions, a mysterious place that intrigues everyone.

Seeing that everyone was engrossed in watching, Zhao Yuan simply turned around and strolled into the secret pavilion.

The three halls and secret pavilions are all integrated within the Chongwen Academy.

The three halls are located on the southeast, west, and south sides respectively, while the secret pavilion is the central hall of Chongwen Academy.

Although the Secret Pavilion is only a two-story building, it is extremely spacious and tall.

The initial collection of calligraphy and paintings alone included works by the following authors: Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, Yu Liang, Xiao Ziyun, Li Shimin, Li Longji, Yan Zhenqing, Ouyang Xun, Liu Gongquan, Huaisu, Huai Ren, Gu Kaizhi, Han Gan, Xue Ji, Dai Song, Li Zanhua, Huang Quan...

Zhao Guangyi held book-viewing sessions from time to time, sharing his collection with his ministers and even inviting foreign envoys to showcase the cultural achievements of the Song Dynasty.

Later emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty followed this practice and built their own libraries: Longtu Pavilion, Tianzhang Pavilion, Baowen Pavilion, Xianmo Pavilion, Huiyou Pavilion, Fuwen Pavilion, and so on.

During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, the Secret Pavilion was burned to the ground.

The books and albums all had copies, so they could still be recovered. However, all the calligraphy and paintings by famous people were burned, with only a small number that were transferred to Longtu Pavilion and Taiqing Tower surviving.

The massive Tang Dynasty map that's pieced together outside is definitely not the original; it's most likely a copy.

Zhao Yuan randomly picked up a book, and upon opening the title page, he knew it was a copy.

Because official handwritten copies from the Song Dynasty have very distinct characteristics.

Zhao Yuan beckoned to the attending eunuchs: "Order all the officials in the library to search for any collections related to maps."

"Once found, move it here immediately, and then send it to Taiqing Tower."

Taiqing Tower was located in the rear garden of the imperial palace, and was equivalent to the emperor's private library.

The emperor gave the order, and chaos ensued.

Not only are the three pavilions and secret chambers mobilized, but the Dragon Map Pavilion, Heavenly Chapter Pavilion, and others are also busy.

It's actually not hard to find; collections are definitely categorized, so just go to the relevant area on the map.

Maps were delivered one after another, including more than twenty wooden planks.

These wooden boards are carved with topographical maps of the northern frontier of the Song Dynasty.

The mountains are towering, and the rivers meander. Each mountain and each river is different in height and size.

3D Frontier Map of the Song Dynasty!

Zhao Yuan stared at it silently for a moment, then asked, "Where did you find it?"

A young official stepped forward: "They are all stored in Xianmo Pavilion, and were engraved under the supervision of Shen Kuo, a minister of the former Song Dynasty."

These 3D maps were also created by Shen Kuo.

Shen Kuo was also a geographer, and he believed that the deep valleys of Yandang Mountain were formed by the erosion of flowing water.

Furthermore, by observing fossils in the Taihang Mountains, it was determined that this area was a coastal region in ancient times.

The entire North China Plain was formed by the deposition of silt by river water.

Further observation of plant fossils in Yanzhou suggests that the climate here was more humid in ancient times.

Zhao Yuan said, "We can collect and organize Shen Kuo's posthumous works in various libraries."